Updated 5/18/2015 - First as always I want to give a Big Thanks to Stephanie S. for your recent donation to the snow site and to all of you that have donated throughout the season. I really appreciate you taking the time and it helps out a lot, Thanks
I had a chance this weekend to talk to Kim Buttrick who is the person in charge of the CoOps at the Boston NWS office about Lowell, Ma’s snow stats. The obvious question was why did Lowell’s snow totals rise a couple of inches and to find out if it was was I thought, an adjustment or correction from a previous date.
I’ve talked to Kim a couple of times and she is such a nice person and really takes the time to clarify things for me. This time she went over all of the data that was reported along with explaining to me how it works as far as getting reports from Lowell which explained a lot 
Kim told me that the person that takes the measurements for Lowell, MA which are recorded at the Water Treatment Plant there will punch in the numbers each day using the phone. There are times when mistakes are made punching in the snow data and that is why they also fill out a manual form so that they have a hard copy of it also.
Kim then compares the data that was punched in by phone with the hard copy form that she receives each month with the written snow totals. She then makes any corrections or adjustment that need to be made. I see several NWS Offices making adjustments for several cities throughout the season and always have since I have been keeping the snow totals for the cities. Obviously the reason this one stands out so much is because the correction put Lowell in the lead. There is no conspiracy going on by the NWS and I can assure you they have no interest in the snow contest or the outcome of it
Kim told me that there were a few corrections throughout the season for Lowell but the two that made the difference were what I posted below. March 22nd a correction was made and 1.5 inches of snow was added. Another was made on March 29th where 0.5 inches was added to Lowell’s snow totals. The math adds up giving Lowell the 2 new inches of snow which put them in the lead as of my last update.
A Big Thank You Kim for helping us out and explaining how things work with the NWS and also for taking the time to do so. Thanks Kim 
OK, now that the controversy is cleared up it’s time to talk about when the snow contest ends. Normally I will call it a wrap by now but with the lead only half an inch I don’t feel comfortable calling it yet. IMO the chances are pretty good that the snowfall is over for Lowell, Worcester and Syracuse but I think I am going to ride it out a little longer. It’s been a pretty funky snow season for a lot of cities and I want to make sure the funkiness is over For now Lowell is in the lead and stay tuned for any update or maybe even some more adjustments
Have an Awesome Day Everyone
